


The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home

by Pippitypopadoo



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Fluff, M/M, POV Outsider
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-08
Updated: 2015-02-08
Packaged: 2018-03-11 03:55:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3312980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pippitypopadoo/pseuds/Pippitypopadoo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.</p><p>But sometimes, it's the things in between.</p><p>(Or: A 5+1 fic that revolves around the kitchen.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Kitchen is the Heart of the Home

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I was supposed to write about volleyball nerds in love but Jack and Bitty kept looking at me like "Why are you not writing about us?"
> 
> So I write about hockey nerds in love instead, though hockey doesn't happen.

**1.**

Holster sucked in a deep breath of the bakingness that was the Haus as he stepped through the door. After finally finishing his paper in the early morning and training and sitting through a two hour lecture with only one flask of coffee and then running to a seminar that's at the opposite end of the building, he was ready to fall face first onto his bed and sleep till the next year.

His stomach grumbled as he caught the whiff of sweetness and baked dough, protesting against being empty save for caffeine liquid, the toast he'd crammed into his mouth at four a.m. and a donut he'd bought from the café beside Founders out of desperation. It had tasted like cardboard soaked in oil. Better not let Bitty know about the travesty of a pastry, or he might get an aneurysm and then Jack would kill him and Holster really didn't want to die without the sleep that he needed right the fuck now.

But maybe a bite of Bitty's pie would give him the energy to climb up the stairs without falling asleep first.

"Yo, you're back!" Shitty called out from where he was doing a handstand in his naked glory. Holster blinked at him. Nope. Not gonna ask.

"Bitty? Pies done?" he asked blearily. Brevity was of essence.

"Yeah, but it's Experiment Day, you know the rules."

Holster sighed heavily. Experiment Day made Bitty testier than he was during stress baking. Stress Baking Bitty was worried and frazzled, but Experiment Day Bitty would get downright annoyed while fighting the good fight of creating more Bitty Specials. He’d get into a right state, scribbling in a notebook and grumbling to himself, occasionally blasting music so loud the lacrosse people would come knocking. Jack would do his Canadian-ly polite version of 'we don't give a damn, who do you think you are compared to our Bittle, you are hypocrites by the way please get the fuck off our lawn' but they'd still get a pie from Bitty the next day, which was more than they deserved if anyone asked. Holster and Ransom and some of the boys on the team had hissed from the Haus when they first saw Bitty going over with a piping hot pie in hand.

But anyway the point was that no one was allowed in the kitchen during Experiment Days unless there were emergencies, not unless they were willing to risk getting Bitty out of his mind zone and then any advancements humanity would have made with the creation of another Bitty Special would be halted. Not only was that a tragedy, the wrath of the Samwell Hockey Team would be incurred too.

Holster mourned the loss for his stomach, but mission objectives having changed, he simply gave Shitty a nod and left him to… whatever he was up to.

As he trudged past the kitchen, he looked in to see Bitty hunched over the kitchen counter, tapping a foot as he pondered about the secrets of pastry-making. Holster pressed a hand to his stomach to comfort it and continued onwards. It was smelling great, like maple syrup and apples. At least he'd be in for a treat when he woke up.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, voices drifted to him

"... 's okay I guess but..."

"Honest opinion, Jack Zimmermann, I am a _professional_ and I can take it." 

"Well, it’s… a bit too sweet I guess? For me? And umm, I don't know what's the proper term but I think... the texture? It's, uh..." 

Holster shook his head and began the ascent up the Mt. Everest stairs. He must be seriously sleep-deprived if he's imagining people being allowed in the kitchen during Experiment Day. 

Bed, now.

 

**2.**

Ransom scratched his stomach as he muffled a yawn behind a hand. It was still dark outside, and no sane college student would be willingly awake in the middle of the night. He’d promised Holster that no, he wasn’t going to do any form of cramming while the moon was in the sky (and tonight's a full moon, so, damn) but studying after dinner burned a lot of energy, even if Jack still refused to accept that as a reason to give Ransom more leeway in snacking. Awful, simply awful.

It was probably wishful thinking that there’d be any shepherd's pie left. Ransom sighed.

As he carefully made his way to the second floor, instinctively avoiding any creaking planks that would be too loud in the quiet of the night, he faltered on the last step when he heard giggling, followed by a shushing sound. A chill tickled against the hair on his neck. Ransom clutched the banister harder, opening his eyes as wide as he could, trying to see-

Well, there wasn’t anything to see of course. Unless maybe someone was awake. Or someones. Alive, human someones who were his teammates.

Peering around the corner, Ransom released the breath he hadn’t realised he was holding when he saw the light faintly shining from the first floor. Good! Light meant that humans were present, because humans needed light to see while ghosts didn’t. Hypothetically speaking, since ghosts didn’t exist, after all.

As he made his way down, soft murmurings grew into more distinct voices and… Elvis Presley crooning.

_“Like a river flows surely to the sea_

_Darling, so it goes_

_Some things are meant to be.”_

He slowed as he reached the bottom step, feeling awkward for creeping to the kitchen doorway but he was just suddenly uncertain about interrupting.... something. Inside, Bitty and Jack sat at the kitchen table, Bitty leaning forward with a grin as Jack said something in low tones while drawing some diagram in the air with his hands. Apparently it must have been highly amusing, because Bitty looked like he was hard pressed not to start chuckling and Jack was shushing him again, kicking him under the table.

_“Take my hand_

_Take my whole life too”_

Ransom was very uncertain about entering the kitchen now.

_“For I can’t help…”_

“Ransom!” Bitty said brightly. “Why are you up? Anything the matter? Surely you’re not going to study now?”

“Oh, I…” Ransom paused when Jack turned to looked at him. They looked normal, like it was the middle of the day and… normal stuff were happening. Which Ransom knew wasn’t the case because he could hear the crickets and see absolutely nothing outside the window.“I was just feeling hungry,” he finished, feeling like he should say more but had no idea what he should say.

“Don’t you worry, I’ve got some shepherd's pie saved for you, just let me heat it up, hmm?” And then Ransom was being ushered to a seat beside Jack and he decided he wasn’t going to care anymore, because his hunger was back in full force at the mention of savoury food.

“Bitty, you are a godsend. Don’t ever leave us,” Ransom yawned out and slumped on the table.

“Oh, you.” Bitty laughed and patted him on the head. There was the scraping of chair against floor as Jack stood up.

“I’ll be off to bed. Goodnight Bittle, Ransom. Don’t faceplant into your plate and burn your face off.”

“My face is too beautiful to burn, Zimmermann!” Ransom called out sleepily, breathing in deeply the sweet scent of shepherd's pie that was beginning to fill the kitchen. Thank all that was good for the creation of microwaves.

Jack clapped Bitty on the shoulder and said something, and Ransom watched him leave. “Since when does Jack know what faceplanting is?”

“Shitty and I were explaining the intricacies of facepalming, faceplanting and headdesking the other day,” Bitty said as he pulled out a plate of hot shepherd’s pie and placed a fork nicely on the side.

So Bitty hadn’t given up on making Old Man Jack live in the 21st century. “You work miracles, Bitty my boy,” Ransom declared as Bitty slid the plate in front of him.

“That I do.” Bitty beamed at him. “Time for me to sleep too, you clean up after yourself all right?” Ransom made a noise in the back of his throat that Bitty correctly took to mean consent, and then he was left alone with a very large serving of steaming shepherd's pie, all for himself.

Bless you, Bitty.

 

**3.**

Lardo stumbled into the kitchen, sun too bright and cheerful as she groaned all the way to the table.

“Bacons and eggs?” Jack asked, and Lardo gave him a thumbs-up, thankful for Jack keeping his voice down.

“Curse you and your lack of hangovers,” she whispered as a cup of water was placed before her.

“Since when do _you_ get hangovers?” Jack asked above the sizzling of bacon, far too amused for Lardo’s liking.

“I _don’t_ , but even I do get sick sometimes, stupid.”

“Still got that headache? You didn’t drink yesterday, did you?”

Lardo gave him a look. “Duh. Shitty stuck to me all night, it was worse than when you guys messed up my project last spring.”

Jack flipped the bacon with a flick of his wrist. “Hey, I followed your instructions! The hair just looked too much like the left arm and the glue dried faster than I thought it would and… I’ll stop now.”

“Got that right, Zimmermann.” Lardo fumbled with the grey box on the kitchen table. “When we get a radio?”

“I found it in some antique shop, it was going cheap,” Jack said as he slip two strips of bacon onto a plate and cracked eggs into the pan. “Bittle was saying I didn’t have an ipod and so I bought that and told him I didn’t need one now. He had such a look on his face while I was queuing.” Jack huffed out a laugh at that. Lardo just hummed and switched it on, turning the dial as the radio crackled to life.

_“Red lips and rosy cheeks_

_Say you'll see me again even if it's just in your wildest dreams”_

“Too loud,” someone grumbles from behind Lardo and then Bitty was pressing his head onto his arms beside her. Lardo complied and lowered the volume.

“Drink too much?”

Bitty made an incoherent noise from the fortress of his arms. Jack sighed and handed Lardo her breakfast, before going to the fridge and pulling out more bacon. As Lardo sat up and began to dig in, her eyes lingered on what Bitty was wearing.

“I don’t think you’ll want to dirty that jacket, Bitty.”

_"His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room_

_And his voice is a familiar sound, nothing lasts forever”_

Bitty blinked at her, then looked down, and continued staring down.

“Hmm?” Jack asked and turned around.

_“But this is getting good now_

_He's so tall, and handsome as hell”_

Bitty looked up and stared at him. Lardo was concerned about how his pale face was capable of turning paler.

“Oh, yeah, don’t dirty my jacket like how you spilled beer all down your own,” Jack said with an eyebrow raised.

“Huh?” Bitty asked coherently.

“You missed your own mouth and fed your jacket your beer instead, and then complained about how cold it was, remember?” Jack gave him a look that Lardo wasn’t sure if it was supposed to be fond or exasperation. His face was slipping, she noted.

“Oh. Okay.”

“Eggs?”

“Scrambled please,” Bitty said quietly as he dutifully slipped out of Jack’s jacket and rested it on his lap. One hand remained on it.

Lardo bit into her eggs. She’s got her money on before graduation.

 

**4.**

Chowder knocked on the kitchen door hesitantly. “Bitty…?” he asked quietly, hand touching his nose tenderly.

Bitty dropped his mixing bowl with a clatter and was by his side in a whirlwind. Chowder was feeling dizzy enough already and he clutched onto the doorframe, only releasing it when Bitty was pressing against his back gently and led him to the chair. Chowder sank into it and dropped his bag onto the floor, and before he knew it, a bag of ice was on the table and Bitty was pressing a box of tissues into his lap and angling his head forward at the same time.

“Lean forward now, don’t tilt your head up you silly boy,” Bitty said soothingly, a hand rubbing up and down his back, and Chowder felt himself relaxing inexplicably. “What happened? How long have you been bleeding, do you need the ice bag?”

Chowder dabbed at the blood below his nose. “Will I bleed all over your kitchen, that’s won’t be good, should we go to living room-” he asked worriedly, but was hushed and his hand was guided to his nose.

“Pinch the bridge now, that’s a dear. Don’t fret, you’re not bleeding all over at all!”

Chowder did as he was told but pulled out more tissues anyway, making sure to catch any blood that might drip down. “My nose hurts,” he said morosely. Bitty stilled and Chowder tilted his head to see what had happened.

Bitty was wearing a thunderous look, which was worrying because Bitty was rarely angry and even if he was angry he never looked like this oh no-

“Bitty…?” he asked anxiously.

“You need me to threaten anyone for you, Chowder? I’ve got the boys behind my back, and whoever did this to you will know not to mess with one of Samwell Hockey’s by the time we’re done-”

“Done with who?” It was Chowder’s turn to still when he heard Jack’s voice. “You know how I feel about you plotting murder without me.”

Chowder frowned at that, but then stopped because his nose was too sore for frown-scrunching.

“Chowder’s got hit on the nose!” Bitty said, strangely angry. Ah, shit. He forgot to ask Bitty not to tell Jack. Chowder furiously shook his head, but then  Jack was standing on his other side and looking very angry too. Or very concerned, Chowder could rarely tell the difference.

“What happened?” Jack demanded, face very close to his and Chowder reflexively ducked away closer to Bitty.

“Don’t crowd!” Bitty whispered and lightly slapped Jack on the arm, then wrapped an arm around Chowder’s shoulder. Chowder would always be amazed by how agreeable Jack was with Bitty. Slightly annoyed still, sometimes, but he would listen to what Bitty told him to do. Then again, Bitty was pretty fearless and ‘swawesome, so Chowder could understand. Even the captain must bow down to the ‘swawesome at times.

“I…” Chowder began uncertainly, then paused when both turned to look at him.

“Yeah?” Bitty said encouragingly.

“I walked into a pole on the way here,” Chowder said, and looked down miserably. There was a pause, a loud sigh, and then-

“Oh my sweet little sunshine child,” Bitty said softly and hugged the side of Chowder’s head to his chest. Chowder took care not to get blood onto his shirt and watched Jack rub his face.

“I think the bleeding’s stopped now.” Chowder sniffed and gave the bottom of his nose one last rub.

“Is your nose okay, did you break it?” Bitty pressed a hand to his chin and tilted his head this way and that.

“No, I’m fine, Ma, don’t worry,” Chowder said, and promptly felt his cheeks turn warm. There was a choked sound on his other side, but he was already scrambling to correct himself. “I mean! I, umm, you’re Bitty! You’re not my ma, what am I saying, you’re not as big or womanly but umm- No! I mean, not that you’re small! But-”

Bitty cleared his throat and patted his cheek. “Don’t worry about it, are you feeling better now?”

“Yeah, I’ll just… sit outside now… umm…” He hastily scooped up all the tissues he’d used and pulled up his bag. “Thanks for taking care of me, Bitty! Thanks a lot!”

Bitty smiled at him, and it was a normal happy Bitty smile, so Chowder was sure that Bitty didn’t mind the slip-up just now at all. That was still embarrassing, though! He hurriedly nodded at Jack, threw the tissues into the bin and he slipped out of the kitchen.

While thinking about how long it’d take for his cheeks to stop being unnaturally red, he caught a slap and Bitty saying, “Don’t you laugh!”

Chowder pressed his face into his hands, careful to avoid his nose. Still, his heart was all tingly about Bitty and Jack being all concerned for him. Like parents, even! That had felt ‘swawsome.

Chowder would always be so appreciative of deciding to enrol in Samwell.

 

**5.**

“Hey bro, what are you-” Holster began to ask, but Shitty shot him a look and made a zipping motion across his lips. Ransom and Holster looked at each other, then silently joined him where he was pressed against the wall.

And under the low quality radio music, they heard it.

 _“Holy shit”_ Ransom mouthed and began to hit Holster’s leg.

“Duuuuuude,” Holster whispered, and Shitty looked at them. _I know right_ , his eyebrows and moustache said. Holster squeezed Ransom’s arm and Ransom quietly pulled out his phone, angling the camera into the kitchen. Shitty nodded approvingly and could no longer stop the grin from breaking across his face.

Bitty, good ole Bitty had done it.

Jack Zimmermann was singing along to a chart-topper. Sure, it was a mid-2014 when it topped the charts, but _Jack Zimmermann who lived under a rock was singing to a chart-topper_.

Bitty had outdone himself, seriously.

“I am so proud right now,” Shitty whispered, feeling a prickling in his eyes. His best friend was all grown up now, taking his first step into the modern world, no long a sullen Canadian Captain America who had just emerged from the ice-

There was a sharp intake of breath, and then Ransom and Holster simultaneously slapped a hand over their mouths. They looked at him frantically, Holster rubbing Ransom’s head and Ransom was pressing the side of his face into his hands and leaning against the wall.. Shitty frowned at them, then leaned forward to see what the fuss was about.

He edged past the doorframe and looked in carefully.

Seated at the table, Bitty was resting his head on his crossed arms, eyes shut. And standing beside him, Jack was stroking his hair.

Jack was also singing John Legend’s “All of Me” and looking down at Bitty with what was unmistakably affection while he stroked a sleeping Bitty’s hair.

 _Holy shit_ could not even begin to cover it.

Betsy began to beep and the three of them at the door jerked back, though Ransom heroically kept his phone where it was.

“Pie’s ready, Bittle,” they heard Jack say.

“Hrmphmmmm?” Bitty yawned and then there was some shuffling about. A click as the oven door opened and the clattering of metal when the pie was set down to cool.

“Go get some rest, Bittle. If the zombies come now, you can probably blend in very well with them.”

“That’s a great survival tactic Jack, shut up.” Another yawn, and a chuckle.

“We’ll count on you to save the team during another apocalypse, Bittle, go sleep.”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Shitty met Holster and Ransom’s eyes and nodded. They quietly drew away.

///

 

Later, after they reviewed the video that Ransom had taken, there was a moment of silence.

“Well, that wasn’t fucking cute at all. I think it was sweeter that the pie Bitty made last month.”

“Hey, you know we’re not supposed to talk about that.”

“You know who said we weren’t supposed to talk about that?” Shitty asked.

There was another moment of silence, and then Holster and Ransom sighed. “It was Jack, wasn’t it,” Ransom muttered.

“Yep,” Shitty said, popping the ‘p’.

The three regarded the image of Jack and Bitty smiling at each other on the screen, right before Ransom had stopped filming and Bitty walked out.

“For the wedding?” Holster asked.

Shitty nodded. “For the wedding.”

 

**+1**

“Hey, why’re the seniors in such a frenzy today,” Mackie whispered to Finster as he watched Christo clean the windows while Maso and Kenzy stacked everything in the kitchen.

“Bro, it’s Reunion Day! The alumni are coming back, how could you forget?” Finster gave him a look at his blank expression. “Jack Zimmermann ring any bell to you? Shitty? Bitty?”

“Bitty?” Mackie widened his eyes. “As in from the “No entering the kitchen if Bitty says no, no filching pies without Bitty’s say-so” bylaw?”

“The one and only. You sophomores haven’t met him, huh?”

Mackie shook his head. For this Bitty dude to be mentioned in the bylaws in such a way… he must be the ultimate ‘swawsome guy in Samwell Men’s Hockey.

Finster chuckled. “Well, you guys are in for a treat. He’s _amazing_.”

“What time are they coming?” Mackie asked, beginning to feel the excitement that was in the air of the Haus.

“About now, actually,” Christo said as he came up to them. “ _Chill_ , bros, it’s not like the house was always sparkly clean when they lived here.”

“But Bitty’s _kitchen_ ,” Kenzy wailed as he balanced on top of the kitchen counter, attempting to maximise his shoving-into-the-cupboards power.

Christo sighed. “Make yourself useful and take out the trash, Mackie.”

“Yes sir!” Mackie immediately dropped his bag and grabbed a large trash bag, grabbing all the bins and pouring them into the bag before hurrying out.

“Careful not to make a hole in the bag!” Finster shouted after him. Christo groaned.

“ _One time_ …” The rest of his words were lost behind the shut door. Mackie carefully hefted up the bag and walked down the pathway. Just as he was putting it at the proper disposal area, a car drove up. Mackie turned around eagerly, wondering if it was one of the alumni, but out stepped a young blond man, who then went to the back seat and began to pull out large cardboard box after cardboard box.

“Hey there!” The kid called out cheerfully. “Mind giving me a hand?”

“... Yeah, sure?”

From the other side of the car, a guy wearing a baseball cap and came out as well, and then said something to the blond kid, who then grinned wildly.

“I know! But it’s amazing to be here, I didn’t want to wait. There’s never too much!”

“You new here?” Mackie ventured as he lifted up a box. The smile on the blond kid’s face froze and he blinked at him, while Cap Guy coughed and looked away. Blond Kid elbowed him before smiling at Mackie again, though the look was… weirder now.

“No, I’m visiting.”

“... Huh.” Mackie mulled over it as he led them into the Haus. No one mentioned a brother visiting though.

Right as he entered the Haus, the kid called out merrily, “Hey y’all! Didja miss me? I’m back!”

“Bitty!” came the choruses of the juniors and seniors, while the frogs and sophomores looked at the door curiously. Mackie froze.

“Bitty _don’t go into the kitchen yet oh my god I’m so sorry-_ ” Kenzy cried out before Maso slapped a hand over his mouth, but Bitty - _Bitty the lord of the kitchen aka the Bitty from the bylaws_ \- laughed, put down his boxes and opened his arms. All the seniors, strong tough seniors that the whole team looked up to, rushed forward to smother Bitty in hugs.

Mackie looked on in horror as he realised that he had thought Bitty of the legends was a frog.

He looked at Cap Guy. Cap Guy looked on at the scene with a smile playing on his lips, only walking forward when Bitty finally extricated from people who were taller and bulkier than him.

(Surely he would understand why Mackie had such a misunderstanding oh my god)

Cap Guy patted Bitty on his shoulder and said, “I’ll bring your goods into the kitchen, Eric, you catch up with them.”

Bitty looked up at him with a smile and gave him a peck on his lips. “Thank you, Jack, you’re such a sweetheart.”

Jack. Jack Zimmermann. The famous SMH alumni who was also an openly bi NHL player. Who had a boyfriend. Who was Bitty.

Mackie quietly followed Zimmermann into the kitchen and placed the box onto the kitchen counter. Zimmermann then turned to regard him and Mackie swallowed.

“Ummm.”

The guy smirked and open his mouth to say something, but then Bitty entered the kitchen. “Don’t chirp the poor boy, Jack!”

“I wasn’t!”

“Right.” Bitty raised his eyebrows, before turning to Mackie. Mackie quickly stood at attention, but Bitty only smiled down kindly at him.

“Holster and Ransom called to say they’re arriving in 5 minutes, you go help your captain prepare for their arrival, hmm?”

Mackie took the out for what it was and nodded quickly, already hurrying out. He breathed a sigh of relief as he ducked out of the doorway and leaned against the wall.

“They’re calling ahead now? Should I be worried that they’re losing their touch?” he heard Zimmermann ask.

“You should be worried they’re that confident, more like,” Bitty said.

“At least I’m not their captain anymore…” Zimmermann sighed and Bitty laughed.

"Hey look! Our radio's still here!"

“It’s good to be back, isn’t it?” one of them said quietly and then things were silent. Mackie wondered about how it must feel, to have lived in the Haus and spent each day with such a tight family. There was a pang in his heart when he imagined what it must feel to let go. He'd only been here for a year but already, the Haus was more like a home than anything. Even going back to his 'actual home' felt more like going to his parent's house instead. It was a strange distinction.

Very distinct sounds of kissing broke Mackie out of his sentimental reverie and he felt his face flush. Right. Time to go.

 

**Extra**

Jack, Chowder and Nursey watched the kids hurry about and shout at each other. “You TP-ed _everywhere_? But, how, we were all in the yard…” Dex wondered aloud, scratching his head.

“An oldie but a goldie, bro,” Holster cried out as he fistbumped Ransom.

“What about their beds, can they sleep tonight?” Bitty asked worriedly.

Ransom rubbed Bitty’s head. “Don’t worry, everywhere but the beds. And your kitchen is spared too!”

Lardo looked impressed. Shitty gave a low whistle. “The boys have levelled up. _Evolved_.”

Jack shook his head and raised his hands. “I am so glad I’m not in charge of you two anymore.”

Ransom and Holster high-fived at that, savouring the yells of frustration amidst the chaos around them.

**Author's Note:**

> Poor Mackie
> 
> Songs mentioned, if you can't figure them out, are:  
> Can't Help Falling In Love - Elvis Presley  
> Wildest Dreams - Taylor Swift  
> All of Me - John Legend
> 
> ETA: Goodness, I should've known better than post while half-asleep. Editted out mistakes, but please tell me if you spot more!!
> 
>  **ETA (7 Nov 16):** AO3 user _katisecstatic_ left a comment that mentioned the part about Jack being an exception to Bitty's kitchen rule, which made me think about how that came about in the first place. Here's what I replied:
> 
> I imagine that maybe Jack's forgetting/not realising that it's Experiment Day, and they're just the two people in the Haus cause the rest are out doing school things or whatever. Maybe Jack's trying to do his laundry but the washing powder's gone and he's yelling at Bitty across the house, asking if he knows where it is. Bitty isn't replying so he like "Bitty??" as he walks to the kitchen and then as he reaches the kitchen door, Bitty turns to him with crazed eyes. Jack takes in how the kitchen is a mess, suddenly remembers Experiment Day, and he's like "OH SHIT BITTY'S GONNA KILL ME", but then Bitty drags him into the kitchen, shoves him into a seat and pushes a slice of pie in front of him, ranting "For the life of me, I cannot figure out what is wrong with it, eat it and tell me". And then from then on, sometimes Jack gets pulled into Experiment Day, and then after that Jack automatically comes down whenever he's got the time. Bitty needs a sounding board, that's all. And he gets free food. It's a win-win, really.


End file.
